Anybody Got Any Ink?

This is just a throw-away discussion. Nothing in depth or meaningful - unless you choose to share the meaning behind your Ink. Oh, and by Ink, I mean tattoo! I was just curious. I just got my first one two weeks ago, and already had plans on the second. No, as a theist, I did not go with a stereotypical cross design, nor will I with the second one either. Mine have more meaning to me than that. My first one is of my Wing Chun School's crest. It's on my right shoulder and contains hidden meanings within it regarding the knowledge of the art. I got it because I am a life time member and now instructor of this lineage of Wing Chun, and it contains significant meaning in the fact that I have been wanting to do something in my life like this since I was fifteen years old.

As for my next tattoo, I was thinking of inking the Japanese Ronin symbol in scarlet red on my left chest along with a phoenix that extends onto my left arm. The Ronin symbol is my take on the Scarlet Letter and my now defunct relationship with the church I worked in. The phoenix is me rising from the ashes of that Hell the SBC calls a Christian society. My little way of saying to them "Fuck YOU!" Sorry for the language.

Replies to This Discussion

It goes against there religious beliefs as the body is the temple of god. I love my son to bits and I do understand the deaper meaning of why he has the tatoo. He lost his dad at age 5 and to him it is like always having a reminder of him. To him it is special and have a deaper meaning not just a picture of a cartoon strip or something. He always said that he if he got one it has to be personal. I must see if I can post a picture of it.

Have you pointed out their religious hypocrisy on this in defense of your son, or is that too touchy a subject? I say hypocrisy because most Christians who say things against tattoos, against alcohol, and many other things (even homosexuality) fail to recognize that they often violate the Law of Moses almost everyday. I am sure you are very familiar with it all.

The body is the temple, but a tattoo is hardly defacing that temple - especially if it is to honor the memory of a lost loved one.

I have one of my own design in basic black ink.. It's my interpretation of the circle of life. It's 6" by 6" on my right shoulder blade and was done done about 6 1/2 years ago for my 36th birthday.. It's currently my avatar.

I have never been a fan of tattoos on my body but nowadays I am having second thoughts about it. Sometime in future I may get a small "Semper Fidelis" tattoo in cursive over left chest, right above the heart. But we'll see in a few years how I feel about it still

I considerd getting one when I was in my twenties, and then friends started making jokes about it, considering I live in South Africa, they said if I have a springbuck our national rugby teams emblem done on my chest, it might end up looking like a giraffe when I'm old. A friend of mine had a little kitten done, with her first pregnancy it looked like a tiger from the strech marks , after her second pregnancy it looked like a Shar Pei dog. That put me right off

It's all about placement! Back, shoulder, arms, and legs are typically better places for them. Basically, anywhere the skin isn't going to stretch too much. However, if you're not going to to have any more children, and your weight doesn't yo-yo, then you could possibly get one on the hip - a popular place where women get one. I've also seen them get one on the rib cage underneath the arm. After all, the only reason why your friend's kitten is not a Shar Pei is pregnancy! ;) My wife wants to get a four leaf clover on the front of her hip. Each leaf representing our children. We have three boys, so do the math. We unfortunately lost a child in utero, so one leaf is to memorialize the child we lost.